Low cost airlines Monarch and Flybe are increasing the number of services out of Birmingham International Airport, it emerged yesterday.

Flybe is to start flights to Hannover, Galway and Aberdeen, while Monarch - which only started operating from Birmingham 14 months ago - is adding more aircraft and routes, creating 50 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew, ground staff and engineers.

A new five times a week service to Ibiza joins the Monarch network for summer 2007, with flights to Palma, Murcia and Alicante doubling in frequency.

This will mean that 120 Monarch flights per week will operate from the airport.

Monarch will also now have four Airbus A321 aircraft in its Birmingham fleet - an investment of over #200 million.

Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch, said: "The people in the Midlands have adopted Monarch as their airline.

"We have never known such a fantastic response to the launch of a new base. Passengers love our service and have kept coming back for more. In less than two years after launching flights from Birmingham, we will be the largest leisure airline in the region."

Peter Vella, business development director for Birmingham International Airport, added: "This news is great for Midlands' travellers because it will provide more choice at low prices with a reputable brand and all the frills."

Meanwhile, Flybe said that its new routes to Aberdeen and Hannover would end BA's monopoly of the two services, while the flight to Galway is a first for Birmingham International.

The airline also said the daily Hanover service, which begins on October 29, will be its first move into Germany.

The three times a day service to Aberdeen starts on March 8 next year, the same launch date for the Galway flight.

Mike Rutter, Flybe's chief commercial officer, said: "As the number one carrier at Birmingham airport, this is one of our most important new schedule announcements to date, demonstrating our aggressive expansion policy in Birmingham, a key base for Flybe."